The Snare of Fear

Proverbs 29:25 tells us,

The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD shall be safe.

A snare is a noose used for catching an animal. Fear will cause you to be snared or trapped, just like an animal.

I have a friend in the church who has a very large nut tree in his yard, which the squirrels regularly raid. He put this big net over the tree, but it did not seem to deter the squirrels at all. So he finally got a trap and set it up on the roof right next to the nut tree. To date, he has caught about 120 squirrels.

When the squirrel is in the trap, it is totally at his mercy. It can't go anywhere. He happens to be a fairly merciful gentleman, so he takes them over to a local park and lets them go.

When fear gets a hold of your life, you become like one of those trapped squirrels—you are not going anywhere. You are at its mercy. You will not progress spiritually. It keeps you bound. The fear of man can keep you from obeying God; it will keep you from pleasing God. It will keep you from the joy you would experience when you trust God.

In fact, there is a contrast in our verse today. The man or woman who is bound by the fear of man, will not be trusting God in some area of his life. Look at the two parts of the verse together: The fear of man brings a snare, but... in contrast ...whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe.

Do not allow the fear of man to control your life. Instead, trust in the Lord.

Bayless Conley